In Repair
by FantasistFuturist
Summary: No one knew what hid behind those sarcastic remarks. The suffering he endured day after day. This fic has been edited.
1. Scars

_Okay so this idea popped into my head the other day but I didn't have chance to write it until today. Anyways I was thinking..."Tony went through so much, being operated on while conscious. Seeing yinsen die, tortured..." So I decided to add a little more to his kidnapping that happened during the 1st Iron Man. Anyways...I will try to update soon. Been really busy lately. I hope you guys like it._

* * *

No one knew what hid behind those sarcastic remarks. The suffering he endured day after day.

* * *

A few months after the ragtag team, the Avengers had saved the world from the Chitauri, everything had settled down again. Thor, had gone to Asgard to imprison Loki and fulfill his duty as king. Agents Barton and Romanov, returned to S.H.I.E.L.D spy missions. They were currently stationed in Moscow, Russia tracing some black market weapon sales. The Cap, Steve Rogers went back to his small apartment in Brooklyn. He was desperately trying to catch up on the decades that had gone by. As for Dr. Banner, he had moved with Tony to his Malibu mansion in California. After the Loki incident Bruce realized he needed to stay at least in the same country. His decision was helped along by the fact that Tony wanted to keep working with him.  
Bruce and Tony would enclose themselves in the lab for days straight, working on improving anything from a toaster, to the Iron Man suit.

"Perhaps if you change that variable," Tony pointed out as he moved some hologram equations, " right there you will get the algorithm you wish."

"Okay, yeah that makes much more sense," Bruce said followed by a yawn.

Tony went back to working on holograms of his suit. He had the brilliant idea of adding the reflective plates like the helicarrier.

Bruce yawned again and murmured sleepily, "Alright, well it's been two days, I need sleep. I'll get back to this tomorrow."

Tony looked up and nodded, "Yeah, okay. Sleep well."

"You should consider sleeping too. How long has it been since you've had more than 3 hours?"

Tony sighed, "Hmmm don't know, a month? In my defense I do take naps."

Bruce shook his head, "Just go to bed."

"I will…once I finish this. Don't worry your pretty little head."

Bruce snorted and pushed his chair back from the desk. "Good night," He said as he walked out.

Tony went back to working intently on the arm of his suit, trying to get the reflectors to work properly, they should make him virtually invisible . A gasp escaped from Tony's lips as his whole body tensed up. The muscles lined on his upper back spasmed. He lost his footing and tumbled to the floor.

"Ja-jarvis…ha-hap-ppening aga-gain," He stammered through gritted teeth as his whole body began to spasm uncontrollably.

"Shall I inform Dr. Banner?"

"N-no…no-no."

His body writhed against the floor, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. His hands flew to his head, tangling and pulling at his hair, "No, no…no…not again. Please no…" His voice changed, filled with fear, absolute gut wrenching terror.  
He managed to curl into the fetal position, his body shaking violently.

"No please..no..no..not again. Don't hurt me..no.." Gasping for air, he tried to pull himself up, only to knock down everything that was on the table. His body still convulsed, water gathered around his eyes, surrounded by sleepless rings.

"No..no..what is this? Wh-what hav-ve you done to m-me?" He cried out as he ripped his shirt open and touched his arc reactor. "No-no.."  
The clear sliding doors to the lab opened and Bruce entered scanning the room.

"Tony? Tony!" He yelled out, running towards Tony's trembling form. Tony still shook violently, still grasping at his chest.  
"Tony! Tony what's happening?"

"Please..please don't hurt me..don't hurt me.." A yell broke Tony's pleads, "No please..please it burns..it burns!"

Bruce held Tony's shoulders down, "Tony it's me, Bruce. Tony I'm not going to hurt you." Tony looked at him, terror in his eyes.

"No-no…"

"JARVIS what's happening?"

"Mr. Stark has suffered from severe PTSD ever since he was kidnapped five years ago."

"You mean this happens often?" Bruce asked still holding down Tony.

"Not often, but it has happened before. This episode, though is by far the worst in the five years. He will eventually come back to reality."

"How long does that take?"

"Anywhere from 20 minutes to a whole day."

"A whole day?!"

"I'm afraid so."

"Tony, please. Tony it's me Bruce."

Tony's whimpers still filled the lab, "No…please. No more burns…no."

Bruce touched his hand on Tony's face, then his forehead, "Tony, Tony! Come on. Come back, it's okay. No one will hurt you...you're burning up."

Tony was still shaking but not as violently as before. He finally opened his eyes, looking up at Bruce.  
"Pl-please...stop. It burns...please...don't hurt me. I-I have mo-money..no, please..."

"Tony it's me. I promise as long as I'm here no one, no one will hurt you."


	2. Fix You

_**Okay you guys, so thank you so much for the follows and reviews! This chapter is a little..cheesy xD But honestly I think it turned out okay. The next chapter won't be up for a few more days since I want to make the chapters longer. I don't want to end up with like 50 chapters xD Thank you guys again! **_

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Bruce whispered, "Come on, come on Tony. Snap back."  
Tony had slipped into unconsciousness, but his body was still shaking. Bruce picked him up and walked to his room. He laid him down on the bed, and began pacing. Sighing he looked back at Tony, staring in disbelief. How was it that everyone was oblivious to Tony's condition? A pained grunt snapped Bruce back from his thoughts and he saw Tony give a small tremble. He approached the bed and took off Tony's sweat soaked ripped shirt and went to get another one. He sat him up as best as he could then he noticed the scars on Tony's back. Bruce stared at them, gently tracing them with his finger, examining every single one. Most of them looked like burns, lifted skin, darker than the rest of his skin. Bruce recalled Tony begging for him not hurt him, his pleads of pain. Bruce couldn't believe that the narcissistic ass he had come to know was only part of Tony, perhaps only a cover, to hide his broken person. Bruce tugged the new shirt down around Tony's waist and covered him with some blankets. He went to sit on a small couch in Tony's room, deciding to stay there all night to watch over him.

* * *

_He was woken up by a bright light when they removed his head cover. A man's voice speaking another language filled the grubby room. His hands were tied behind his back. Looking around he noticed at least 6 men pointing rifles at him, while another recorded them with a video camera. A burning sensation set off the pain receptors in his chest. He still couldn't process what was happening; all he remembered was jumping out of the armored vehicle._

_Screams of absolute pain filled the room, grunts, murmuring voices. His head thrashed on the table, his whole body felt like it was on fire. "Noo…" was all he managed to scream. His nose filled with the smell of a strong chemical; chloroform. Gasps ripped from his lungs before everything went black._

* * *

Beep. Beep. Beep. Bruce stirred in the couch he sat on. Beep. Beep. Beep. His eyes slid open, pained by the sunlight entering the room. He shut off his watch which flashed a steady 9:00 AM. Memories from the night before flew back at him and he remembered Tony. Groggily standing up he found the man was no longer in bed.

"Jarvis where's Tony?"

"I believe Mr. Stark is in his lab. He did ask me to not let you in though."

"What why?"

"He did not specify, sir."

Bruce, now fully awake, headed towards Tony's lab. The clear lab doors were reinforced with metal sheets making it impossible to look inside. Bruce banged his palm against the doors, "Tony, Tony! Open up!" There was no response.

"Oh yeah you're not the only genius!"

Bruce took out a small tablet and connected it to the keypad. He began typing and JARVIS' voice came through, "Firewalls 1 through 3 breached." Finally the metal sheets and clear sliding doors opened and Bruce walked in. He found Tony slumped in his office chair, with bottle of whiskey in hand.

"Jarvis I told you not to let him in."

"Sorry sir he breached the firewalls."

"Tony we need to talk about yesterday."

"We don't not need to talk about anything."

"Yes we do. I mean, what was that?"

"That was nothing, okay? Just leave me alone."

Tony turned his back to Bruce and took a small pull from the bottle.

"You can't just shut yourself away from the rest of the world Tony."

"Yes. Yes I can. Now watch me do it."

Bruce stepped around behind the mans chair and spun him round in an abrupt about face. His hands planted firmly on either side of the arm rests.  
"Listen to me Tony, I just want to help you. Even though it may be hard to believe I think of you as a friend."

"Oh really? You really think that a man with anger issues, that has attempted to take his own life countless times can help me? Oh please."

"I admit I'm pretty screwed up, but unlike me you can be fixed…" Bruce trailed off. A deep sadness practically dripped from his words.  
"Fixed? I'm not a machine. People see me and say 'Oh it's Tony Stark. He's rich, smart, he has everything. He's a hero.' I'm not a hero. I don't even come close to being a hero. I'm a spoiled man, get everything I want when I want it and no one has ever been there to tell me no. I'm the direct opposite of Hero. I do what I do because it benefits me. Paints me in an image that only makes my ego swell. I'm a dick... you know just as well as anyone else. I'm the man everyone wants to be ... everyone but me. I'm the worlds number on fuck up."

"You're not a fuck up, you are a dick... granted... and yes your ego is blown well out of proportion but you do those things because you feel good about saving lives instead of being the reason they are taken . We can find a way to help you. So stop trying to sell yourself short."

"Don't you think I've tried everything? The doctors, the meds…everything money can buy!" Tony's voice lifted an decibel or two in volume.

"I don't care how long I have to research, even though you don't want me to I will find a way to help you," Bruce said as he turned his back and walked away from Tony.

"Why do you even care?" Tony called out as Bruce breached the doors.

Bruce paused, head turning slightly to speak over his shoulder, "Because you're my only friend." In the lingering silence that seemed to follow... Bruce left Tony to his thoughts.

* * *

**_Alright, so some updates have been made to this chapter and the previous one. I noticed I had a lot of grammatical mistake so my friend edited it for me. I'd like to thank her! Thank you Crow! Love you. 3  
_**_  
**And thank you guys for reading! Please review and follow!**_


	3. Bruised

_**Okay you guys so here's the third chapter! I want to thank you for reading and reviewing! I didn't expect this story to catch people's interests, just thank you. So in this chapter there's a couple of flashbacks. Honestly I really love this story I really want to incorporate all the avengers or at least most of them but I'm still trying to figure it out so give me time. Most likely in the later chapters! I'm trying so hard to not make Tony sound well like cheesy or too soft but it's hard especially with this topic. Okay I'm done ranting and enjoy!**_

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_The darkness faded away as he opened his eyes. Nothing looked familiar. Where was he? Much to his distaste, a clear tube was taped to the side of nose. He reached up and tugged it, gagging slightly as it moved in the back of his throat. Hacking in protest of the movement he gave one final tug and it pulled free with a string of saliva and mucous. The air was cold here, wherever here was. It chilled him to the very marrow of his bones. Tony attempted to turn, only to have something tug slightly from the center of his chest._  
_ "I wouldn't do that if I were you," a heavily accented voice broke the silence. Pain bloomed across him, the center of his chest the heart of this white hot bud of sensation. His fingers sought the source of this discomfort, hardness was all he felt. Ripping open his bandages a gasp of utter disbelief escaped him. What was this? Still palming at the circular metal device implanted in his chest, he let a long breath of incredulity. A breath of agony and fear._

Tony  
He stood up when Bruce was well out of sight, and paced around his lab. Because you're my only friend…the words echoed in his head, bouncing around the walls of his skull like a superball thrown in an elevator. He knew he needed help, he had known it since the day he had come back from Afghanistan. Heck, he'd known it before he built the suit in the cave. Tony ran his hand through his hair, still trying to process what Bruce had told him. He went back to his chair and resumed working on those camouflage panels. It was a meager attempt to push all these thoughts out of his head.

Bruce  
Entering his room he found the edge of his bed and sat down, pressing his face into his hands. Tony was right; how could a person that's attempted to take his life numerous times try to help someone? He sighed heavily as old memories began to flood his head. Vague memories. Roaring, screaming, growling. Shaking his head lightly he murmured to himself, "I'm sorry Tony, maybe I can't help you after all."

* * *

A week had gone by since their little confrontation in the lab. Neither of them brought it up. They continued working on the respective projects as though nothing had changed. But something had changed. A lingering shard of proverbial shrapnel that had dug in under Bruce's skin. He could look at Tony and see that the man was in pain, pain no one knew about. Bruce would often drift into thought, trying to remember anything that showed a sign of Tony's darker side. Nothing ever really came to mind. He often found himself analyzing every one of Tony's gestures, tones, body movements. He did so as though trying to read beyond and find a hidden message, like Tony's past would just unfold before him like the pages of a book. Everyone knew Tony to be the overly confident, narcissistic ass who could basically talk himself into anything. But they were businessmen and women to keep his bed warm at night, professionals, and none of them had noticed anything wrong. Tony's façade was too well constructed, as though he had been perfecting it for years. More than five years at least.

Bruce kept his interactions with Stark to a minimum, only the casual question about an algorithm or things of that sort. Finally... a small crack appeared in the mask he had one day in the lab while they worked on a set of chemicals that could paralyze someone. They were meant to be added to the Iron man suit. Bruce was intently working on mixing the chemicals when he heard Tony mutter something.

He looked up, "Hmm what was that?"

"I said…stop worrying about me."

"Wha- worrying about you? I'm just mixing some paralytics," Bruce said surprised.

"Bruce, you know what I mean."

Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose, "I find you seizing on the floor, yelling in pain and you're asking me not to worry?"

Tony looked up and flashed him the well know Tony Stark smile, "Yeah. Basically."

Bruce shook his head slightly and sighed, "I know you're just trying to cover it up. It's nothing to be ashamed of. I mean you're not some green rage monster."

"Who says I'm ashamed of…this. Maybe I just don't want people giving me pity, I don't want people thinking I'm," he stopped for a second in search of a word that would fit, "that I'm..broken."

Tony returned his attention to the left leg of his suit as though nothing had been said. Bruce simply looked at him, not knowing what to say.  
"If it makes you feel any better, I don't pity you. I understand you."

"Do you really?" Tony asked skeptically, still messing with the wires and servos under the metal plating.

"I think if anyone could understand what you've gone through it would be me. The nightmares, the guilt…everything. But maybe you were right the other day, I'm not the right person to help you."

Tony let his hands go still. Falling back in his chair he issued a quiet sigh, "I'm not one to say sorry, you know the kind of man I am. I didn't mean to like…offend you and stuff."

Bruce chuckled softly, "Trust me, you didn't offend me. You get use to it when people are so scared they won't even talk to you, try to kidnap and experiment on you, and often try to kill you."

Tony let out a dry laugh, "I know your intentions, I know you're only trying to help but I just don't want to go through it all over again."

"Go through what again?"

"The whole 'I'm your friend, let me help you and eventually leave you'. Too many have failed me…No one actually stuck around long enough to actually make a difference."

Bruce gave Tony an understanding look, "Tell me about it." Bruce had slid down the wall to sit on the floor.

"The only serious relationship I ever had ended all because I just can't…can't allow people inside. I've tried, and tried but I just can't. Pepper is now just the CEO of Stark Industries and nothing more."

"Well you might not believe me but I won't leave. Just, you know…when you want you can talk to me. I might not be the right person but I will listen, and sometimes listening is all it takes."

"Thank you Green Machine. Sorry to break the moment but I really want to finish this so I can test drive it." Tony turned his chair toward the lab table and went back to work.

"Yeah, well if you need help tell me. I'm famished, so I'll see you later," Bruce stated with a smile.

He pushed himself up off the floor and started to leave. When he reached the door though, he paused and glanced back at Tony, "By the way, Tony? You're not broken, you're just bruised." Like saying something at the door was his closing act, Bruce headed up the stairs.

Tony stayed locked away in his lab the rest of the night, like he was known to do when he wished to avoid the real world. Give or take it was usually about five times per week. If he did go out, it was to get drunk and sate the carnal need to have sex with someone. Sometime between 3 in the morning and 5 he got up to serve himself some scotch. He felt his body relax as he drank but soon after the flood gates opened in his mind. Not just thoughts, but memories. Telling Bruce about the disappointment with Pepper had opened old wounds. He never thought he could love someone, but he loved her and she let him down.

_"Tony I can't be with you, you are ticking time bomb, and I just can't handle it. I can't be always on the edge, expecting a phone call telling me you're dead. I'm sorry, I love you but I can't continue watching you slowly kill yourself."_

_"You're giving up on me now? After all you've been through with me? You said you'd be here, I told you that I felt Iron Man was the right thing to do. I killed so many people and now I'm trying to redeem myself. I need you Pepper, you can't just abandon me now. How can you leave and tell me you love me?"_

_"Tony don't you understand? It's not just the fear of you dying on the field saving lives, it's the fear of one day walking into your lab and finding you…" Her voice broke. "You try so hard to save other people, try so hard to be a hero. Tony you can't be a hero when you can't even save yourself." She kissed him on the cheek and left._

He closed his eyes and the muscles in his jaw clenched as he tried to suppress the memories. His mind drifted to earlier in the night, the conversation with Bruce. Did he really care? Or was he just going to leave like the rest? "…you're not broken, you're just bruised." Tony sighed and muttered, "I think I might be more than broken."

* * *

_"What the hell did you do to me?" He directed his anger to the foreign man in what seemed to be a cave._

_"What did I do? What I did was save your life." He said with a chuckle,"I removed all the shrapnel I could but there's a lot left and it's headed to your heart. Here wanna see?" The foreign man shook a small glass jar containing small metal scraps. "It makes a good souvenir." He examined the jar, "I've seen many wounds like that back at my village, we call them the 'Walking Dead'."_

_"What is this?"_

_"That is an electromagnet hooked up to a car battery and it's keeping the shrapnel from entering your heart." _  
_He looked around the cold, damp cave and spotted a camera._

_ "That's right, smile. We met once you know at a technical conference in Berne."_

_"I don't remember."_

_"Oh you wouldn't. If I had been that drunk I wouldn't have been able to stand much less give a lecture on integrated circuits."_

_"Where are we?"_

_A loud clunk made his head snap around quickly. A man's voice echoed throughout the cave speaking a foreign language, and the large metal door swung open._

* * *

_**Thank you guys so much for reading! I really hoped you guys liked it! **_

_**Alright, so some updates have been made to this chapter and well..basically all of them. I noticed I had a lot of grammatical mistake so my friend edited it for me. I'd like to thank her! Thank you Crow! Love you. 3**_

_**And thank you guys for reading! Please review and follow!**_


	4. Misery

**Okay sorry it took forever to update, but honestly I didn't know where this story was going but now I know. Sorda. Hehe. Anyways this chapter is pretty crazy, I hope you guys like it. And yes guys I will eventually include the rest of the avengers. Well I hope you guys enjoy it. Remember leave me your reviews :D**

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The rest of that night, or early morning was spent sulking and drinking until he was noticeably drunk. The morning crept up on him as he continued to stare blankly into nothingness. An empty bottle of scotch sat next to him and a half empty bottle of whiskey was clutched in his hand. His eyes were bloodshot. He clenched his jaw as his head throbbed, thinking too much was giving him a headache... or maybe that was the hangover kicking in early? He stood up, supporting himself on the armrest of the chair and staggered towards the intercom. He stated in a hoarse voice, "Happy, be ready in five."

Tony stumbled out of the lab and into the elevator jabbing his thumb against the main lobby button. He managed to get himself out to the car, despite his inebriated staggering. He gave a grunted directive, "Stark Industries.

"Yes sir."

Happy could tell he was drunk; he had been working for him for years, picking him up from clubs, bars, and every now and then street corners. The whole ride Stark sat, looking out the window, watching the buildings whizz by, not the best for motion triggered sickness. It made his stomach turn over.

"Sir we are here," Happy's voice broke through his thought barrier.

Tony nodded as he exited the car, stumbling some more on his way into the building's elevator. Floor 24. He went up and stepped inside a wide office, lightly decorated, the smell of coffee overpowering everything else.

"Mr. Stark what a surprise to see you here," Pepper's formality hit him in the gut as he staggered forward. With a grunt he replied, "Not Mr. Stark ..It's Tony."

"Tony are you drunk? You come to my office drunk?" She asked incredulously.

He shook his head, "I came here to talk..talk about us."

He slumped down in one of the chairs in front of her desk. His head was spinning, his mind whirring with a million thoughts. Was he even doing the right thing?

"Tony, there is no 'us'. I'm sorry there ever was an 'us'. It only hurt the both of us," Her eyes saddened as she caught a glimpse of Tony's red eyes. It was easy to see he wasn't sleeping.

"Don't you find it ironic that you left me because I'm messed up... yet you leaving messed me up even more?" He let out a dry, humorless laugh.

"Tony, don't do this to yourself. We both know where this conversation has taken us before."

"The one where you pretend to care about what ends up happening to me?"

She sighed into her hand before speaking sternly, " Tony you're drunk. I'm not going to deal with you right now. I am the CEO of Stark Industries, and everything does fall back on me just in case you hadn't noticed."

He snorted, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I told you Tony, I'm not going to deal with you in this state. I have work to do, meetings to plan."

"No, no tell me what you meant?"

She narrowed her eyes at him before looking down, "You know what I meant. I have to deal with all this." She waved her hand sideways, motioning the office, "Stark Industries. It's not a walk in the park you know, especially when the owner is an irresponsible man."

He chuckled bitterly, "Irresponsible?"

"Yes Tony. Irresponsible. When you come to my office drunk, it's considered irresponsible. When you try to merge Oscorp and Stark Industries, when you give a lecture in Berne drunk. Tony I could list so many things."

"Fine you don't want to deal with this. I get it. I'll take the load off your shoulders, consider yourself dismissed," He stood up abruptly, knocking over the chair.

"W-what? You're firing me? You're seriously doing this? After all I've done for your company?"

"Yes, I mean, why work for such an irresponsible owner right?" He headed towards the door.

"What are you trying to do? You really think you can manipulate me into getting back with you by doing all this?"

"I'm no manipulating you, I'm just liberating you from 'all of this' as you said," He mocked her hand movement from before.

Her eyes were now red, stinging with tears, "Tony, you're not thinking straight. I never wanted this, I was just…" She shook her head solemnly, "Who's going to take over now? Tell me, you couldn't survive a week without me."

"Don't worry about that. It's my problem now. Hey you should be happy, I mean now there's nothing holding you back. You can leave completely now."

" Tony, you're a coward...you spread misery because you can't feel anything else! You manipulate people because you can't handle any kind of real relationship."

"Oh Pepper, cut the bullshit. You're the one that ran away, the one who didn't even give me a real chance. I never tried to manipulate you, I just for once tried opening up myself to someone, just once but look where that got me. Maybe being a fucking asshole was the best way to deal with people."

"Ton-"

"No, just listen! I loved you, I tried but you left me. You left me. I don't think you ever loved me; you probably just cared about this position didn't you? Don't worry now, nothing to hold you back." With that he walked out of the room, leaving Pepper standing behind the desk with tears rolling down her face.

* * *

_The man who had entered directed himself at him, speaking another language. The only word he understood was 'Jericho'._

_"He wants you to make them a Jericho missile. They said they would provide you with all the necessary materials."_

_"Tell them I said no."_

_The cave filled with muffled screams and the sound of thrashing water. They dunked his head in the tubs of water, holding him down for a few seconds before bringing him back up only for him to about a half breath before he was plunged back into them. They repeated this process dozens of times until he finally passed out from lack of oxygen._

_"Wake up. WAKE UP!" He yelled at Tony._

_"They want to know if you're going to build the missile now."_

_"Tell them I said no." _

_"Are you sure? Think this through."_

_"I'm sure. I'm not making anything for these fucking bastards."_

_"Have it your way then." The man's voice had a hint of sadness as he nodded at the men that grabbed Tony. The men began speaking their language again, angrily. __"….Jericho!" They place him face down on a concrete table in a dimly lit room. The only other sound was that of a fire crackling, "….Jericho!"_

_They strapped some restraints on his legs and arms. Another voice was added into the conversation. The new voice began speaking English, albeit slightly broken, "So you don't want to build us Jericho?"_

_"I'm not building shit for you!"_

_The man signaled and he was brought a metal bar, about a foot long. It was red at the tip, red from being in the fire. "We'll see about that." The foreign man placed the hot metal bar on his bare back. A scream of agony ripped from his chest as he felt his skin melt underneath the bar. The curls of smoke wreaked of burning flesh._

_"How about now?"_

_"No!"_

_He placed the bar on a section of unmarked skin. Once more his voice tore from him, cries of protest and screams of pain. _

_"AHHHHH!" His body thrashed as the man placed the hot bar on his back again a third, a fourth and fifth time._

* * *

Tools, metal scraps, everything went crashing to the floor. Glasses shattered against the clear sliding doors of the lab, cracks spread across the glass surface like a spiders web. His face was stained with dried tears, his hands covered in gashes. Tony slumped to the floor, burying his face in his knees. Breathing heavily, he tried to hold back more bitter tears. He punched the ground again, harder this time, the sound of bones cracking resonated off the floor.

"Hey Tony what was the password for th- Tony? Tony what happened here?" Bruce rushed to where Tony was. He gripped the man lightly by the shoulders and shook him lightly, "Tony are you okay? Are you alright?"

"Don't touch me," Tony snapped, voice low and hoarse.

"What happened?" Bruce was unmoved, kneeling next to him.

"I told you not to touch me!" Tony lashed out. His elbow catching Bruce in the ribs, knocking him back.

"What's wrong with you?" Bruce asked breathlessly as he sat up, holding his side.

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" The billionaire scrambled to his feet, tears welling in his bloodshot eyes.

"I'm not going to. Not going to leave you alone, just tell me what's wrong…did you have another episode?"

Tony took a menacing step towards Bruce, who had managed to get his feet under him, "No I didn't have 'another episode' just leave me the fuck alone. Stop pretending that you care."

Bruce stared at Tony, confused. He didn't understand why his friend was reacting so aggressively towards him.

"I'm not pretending, I do care Tony. I'm worried about you," He put his hand on Tony's shoulder again, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to touch me!?" Tony shoved him, causing him to crash into a table behind him.

"Tony, please don't do this."

"Do what? Come on! Let him out, let him crush me. I don't care."

Bruce looked at the floor, shaking his head lightly, "No, I won't."

Tony grabbed Bruce by the collar of his shirt and shook him violently, "Come on. Do it. Let yourself go."

"No," Bruce closed his eyes, his arms hanging at his sides, not trying to defend himself.

Tony threw him against the lab table again, this time harder. "LET HIM OUT!"

Bruce fell to the floor, groaning in pain, clenching his fist in attempts to remain calm.  
He stood up slowly, trying to regain his balance as he approached Tony, "Tony, why are you doing this?"

Tony once again shoved the scientist. This time however, he stood his ground firmly, taking Tony's wrists in either hand. "Tony, Tony look at me…Why are you doing this?"

"Let go of me! I just want you to go. I want you to leave now, before I actually believe you care," He ripped himself free from Bruce's grip and punched him in the chest. His damaged fist left a red stain against the fabric.

Bruce staggered backward, before regaining his balance again and grabbing Tony's wrists once more. He pulled him in for a hug.  
"No, don't touch me! JUST GO! LEAVE LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE!"

He began pushing Bruce away, throwing aimless punches at his chest, but Bruce simply tightened his grip around Tony.  
"No, I won't leave. I told you Tony, you're my friend, my only friend…my brother."

Tony let his head fall against Bruce's shoulder, "No…you're..gonna leave..just like them." His voice cracked and he finally stopped fighting the embrace.  
"I won't. I promise," His voice remained calm as he rubbed Tony's back soothingly, trying to bring him down, ignoring the pain his chest and ribs.  
"Don't..please don't," Tony couldn't hold back the tears anymore, he tried stifling the sobs but it was useless.

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**_I hope you guys liked it. It's kinda depressing I know, I almost teared up writing it...guess I just have been having a lot of feels xD_**

**_JESUS TAKE THE FEELS._**

**_Alright thank you so much for reading and review! Please :D_**

_**Also some updates have been made to this chapter and the rest of the story. I noticed I had a lot of grammatical mistake so my friend edited it for me. I'd like to thank her! Thank you Crow! Love you. 3**_

_**And thank you guys for reading! Please review and follow!**_


	5. Darkness

**I am so sorry guys! I know it's been over a month since I updated, I just didn't know where I was going to take this story but now I know. I will be updating soon. I FINALLY OVERCAME MY WRITERS BLOCK. Anyways there were requests on involving the whole team so this will be my attempt at fulfilling your guys wishes. REVIEW, FAVORITE, COMMENT. Thank you all!**

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"Tony…are you going to tell me what happened?" Bruce asked softly as he grabbed the other man by the shoulders trying to make the man meet his gaze.

Tony cleared his throat – it was dry from all the yelling. "I fired Pepper," he said hoarsely as he broke from Bruce's embrace.

"You what?"

Tony stepped back and gripped the desk behind him, his legs feeling like jello, "Yeah. And don't look at me like that! It wasn't my intention, it just happened."

Bruce raised an eyebrow but decided to not say anything to make Tony get irritated. "Why…?"

"Why? Because she abandoned me at the worst time possible, because she says I'm irresponsible, I was doing her a favor. All she complained about was the work that fell on her shoulders."

"Tony…you can't just shut her out of your world like that…it won't do any good. It won't make the wounds heal any faster."

"I know…but this way I don't see her anymore. I just can't deal with this right now, I can't think straight," The engineer shook his head and heaved a sigh between parted lips.

"Tony you need to go rest. Just let me bandage you up."

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"Sir, incoming call from Director Fury." The British automated voice rang through the tower. Tony gave groan in response to him.

"Sir, I do believe it's urgent."

Once again only a grunt for a reply was heard as his head burying itself deeper in the ocean of pillows and blankets.

"Sir, he is overrid-"

"Stark, wake up! It's 2 in the afternoon!"

Tony rolled over and sat up. He grumbled about how he was Tony Stark and he could sleep as much as he wanted to.

"What do you want OneEye?"

"Very clever Stark. Suit up, we had an emergency. The Captain, Agents Romanov and Barton are at headquarters already. Bring Banner with you."

Tony ran a hand down his face, attempting to wake up fully, "Emergency? What kind of emergency?"

"We sent a group of Agents to bring down a warlord in Afghanistan. It was all an ambush and they were taken hostage. This guy isn't your average warlord." Fury hesitated for a moment before continuing, "I'll brief you more once you get here." His face disappeared from Tony's phone screen and he sighed.

Afghanistan.

"Jarvis, please tell Bruce to meet me in the common room."

"Yes Sir."

Meanwhile, Bruce was working on a few chemical paralyzers in the lab.

"Doctor Banner, please meet Mr Stark in the common room. Director Fury needs both of you at headquarters."

"Uh..okay. Thank you Jarvis." He quickly picked up some of the more dangerous chemicals and headed to the common room.

Tony was leaning against the mini-bar, suitcase in hand. "Hey Bruce, some sort of emergency. He'll brief us more when we get there."

Bruce fidgeted with his hands and nodded, "Alright."

The scientists arrived at SHIELD headquarters, and for once actually on time.

"Stark, starting to get soft on me?" Fury looked down at his watch and raised an eyebrow. Captain Steve snickered at his comment.

"Only 15 minutes late?" Natasha added as she leaned back in her seat.

"Yeah, yeah." Tony moved to sit next to Clint, Bruce followed quietly behind him.

"Good, now that everyone's here we can proceed," The director brought up a hologram screen. "Our Agents were here when they were ambushed," He pointed to an area of the hologram map.

"We're dealing with the Belgium drug Lord 'La mouche' aka 'The Fly'. We thought the Agents could bring him down. He has been working on an arsenal of weapons, very similar to your old designs Mr. Stark. Everything was black market; guys from all around the world were buying his stuff. Russia. Brazil. Mexico. Columbia. North Korea."

Tony clenched his jaw when he heard Fury say their weapons were similar. Five years had gone by and his past, his carelessness, was still following him, among other things.

"I'm going to send you guys in. 18 agents were compromised, among them, Agent Maria Hill."

"Sir, I apologize but I don't think you really needed to call in those three." Clint motioned to Tony, Bruce and Steve, "Me and Nat can and will take them down."

"Agent Barton, as much as I know that you're capable, I can't take anymore risks. Hill is now my good eye, I already lost Coulson, and I can't lose her."

"Director, we will bring her and the rest back," Steve nodded firmly and stood up.

"The jet is ready down in level F7. Barton, Romanov you know where."

Soon all the Avengers, save the golden locked demi-god, were in the jet and on their way to Afghanistan. The whole flight Tony's expression remained unreadable, his gaze very distant. "Tony..." Bruce's soft voice broke the deep tide of concentrated musing in the billionaire's head.

"Oh, hey Bruce."

"Are you okay?"

Tony smiled and nodded, "M'fine." Bruce knew he shouldn't press on anymore, so the rest of the flight was silent. (Surprisingly, seeing as Tony and Steve usually go at it.)

"We are landing at the coordinates. The place is surrounded." Clint brought the jet to a hover above the desert of Afghanistan, the sand seemed endless.

"Tony, fly me and Bruce down. Natasha and Clint, find a safe place to land the plane and stay together," Steve stood up and pulled down his mask, "We stay in contact at all times."

They all nodded as Tony grabbed Steve's and Bruce's shirt.

"Clench up." The lights of his repulsors grew stronger and in no time they were out of the jet, flying in the darkness of the night into the drug lord's fortress. Iron Man landed in the sand with a thud. "You have arrived at your destination."

"Alright Tony, scope out the place, I already spot 5 guards at the east side. I'll go over there, Bruce go to the west. Tony after, cover me. "

"Jarvis."

"Yes Sir, there seems to be at least a hundred men once you enter the main gate. There are more men located inside the building, at least a hundred more, all heavily arm."

"You heard Jarvis." With that he flew off and over the fence surrounding the area. "Hello."

Behind him Captain Rogers yelled, "Tony stick to the plan!"

Immediately they fell under heavy fire from every angle, bullets ricocheting off the suit.

_"Damn it Stark! Barton, Romanov! Do you copy?"_

_"Copy, Cap."_

_"Loud and clear!"_

_"Alright, Stark went in. As soon as you find an opening try to get in and find the Agents."_ Steve held his shield tightly and nodded at Banner, "Get in there doctor."  
Bruce nodded and started running, getting as far as he could before he fell to his knees, his shoulders rolling back as his muscles expanded. A deep growl was heard alongside the sound of fabric ripping. His skin started shifting green, soon he staggered to his feet, letting out a deafening roar. The Hulk jumped within the perimeter, knocking over a couple of guards with his mere landing. The startled guards started to shoot at the enormous beast in front of their eyes, only angering him more. "HULK SMASH GUNS!" He backhanded one of the men shooting at him, sending him flying.

"Damn it Stark." Steve muttered to himself angrily as he climbed up the large metal fence surrounding La Mouche's hideout. A guard charged at the Super Soldier, only to be easily knocked out by one swift punch to the face. The side he was on had fewer guards surrounding the area, making it easier for him to find an entrance.

_"Agents, the east side is clear."_

_"Roger that Rogers….what oww!"_ Clint whined through the comm.

_"Sorry Cap. Copy,_" Natasha's voice had an annoyed tone, which was never good.

"Come and get it," Tony said, his voice slightly distorted by the suit. He held up a hand, shooting repulsor blasts left and right. More guns were being aimed at him, except this time not all of them were bouncing off his gold titanium alloy suit.

"Sir, they are using different kinds of bullets now, I suggest you get out of here."

Of course Tony Stark was never one to just fly out when being shot at, he had to fight back. The small metal cover on his shoulder revealed the dozens of tiny missiles, they locked onto their targets and launched, taking down a number of men shooting at him as well as one of the heavy guns.  
"See Jarvis, I have this under cont-" He was cut off by a loud explosion. It was more than enough to jar his systems, send him into the ground and make everything fuzzy. "Jar-jarvis…" he blinked and shook his head to try and clear his vision. They had blasted him with a grenade launcher, causing his suit to go haywire. Tony groaned and tried to sit up, yet another explosion kept him down.

An ear-splitting roar ripped from the Hulk's chest as he punched and threw the guards out his way. "SMASH. HULK SMASH!" He ran and leapt onto the scoping tower where they were shooting machines guns at him. His giant green hand wrapped around the yelling man and he threw him at the ground. Two loud explosions did catch the giant's attention. Turning his head he sees a red speck and recognized it as Tony. "METAL MAN IN TROUBLE!"

_"Cap, we found an entrance, but it's heavily guarded._" Natasha and Clint ran close to the building, scoping everything out. Barton snapped his bow into full length and aimed at one of the guards. Perfect shot. "'Tasha, cover me." He ran in front of the guards, his arrows coming at lightning speed. _"Correction, **it was** heavily guarded."_ "Clint, what was that?" She turned her head and saw flames from an explosion—from two explosions.

"I don't know but we need to hurry."

"_STARK DO YOU COPY?_" Steve spoke loudly into his comm, realizing the explosion had come from Tony's position.

_"Damn. Stark do you copy?_" The super soldier clenched his jaw and kicked one of the approaching men. He started running at full speed, bullets bouncing off his shield. "Maybe if you had…stuck to the plan.." He muttered to himself as he jumped over a few lifeless guards.

Steve's voice echoed in Tony's ear, yet it was unreachable. Soon other voices gathered around him, none that he could distinguish, they all just mixed together. "C-cap..." A cool breeze hit his face; everything was just swirling around him, a familiar darkness washing over him. "Il y a cinq personnes."Ils voudraient les Agents." A man's voice finally sank into his skull. He was speaking French, which he could somewhat understand. _'There's five of them. They want the Agents'_. "Que ferons-nous avec lui?" "Tuez-le." _'What will we do with him?' 'Kill him.'_

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_**I know, I know. I left it at cliffhanger. But I promise I will be updating within the next few days. Thank you for reading and please, review.**_

**_Alright, so some updates have been made to this chapter and the whole story. I noticed I had a lot of grammatical mistake so my friend edited it for me. I'd like to thank her! Thank you Crow! Love you. 3_**

**_And thank you guys for reading! Please review and follow!_**


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